Andromeda's Choice
by Oak Owl
Summary: It's January 1971 and Andromeda's in her sixth year at Hogwarts, unaware that the next year will determine the course of her life forever. Her sister, Bellatrix, has just joined the Death Eaters and their activities are getting ever more extreme. Then 'Dromeda gets to know Ted Tonks, a muggleborn. Should she play the dutiful daughter or betray her family to follow her own path?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I sat in a gnarled, old oak tree, one leg hanging over either side of a thick branch. My back rested against the trunk of the tree and my book was propped up on the branch in front of me. It was a peaceful sort of place, despite the cold biting at my hands and face. I drew my cloak closer round me, its warming charm keeping out the worst of the cold. It was quiet but if you paid attention, you could hear the birds singing in the trees and Bowtruckles creeping along the branches overhead. Weak sunlight shone through the bare branches, producing a dappled effect on my book as I read. It was Peter Pan, the first novel I'd ever read. I'd stolen it from a muggle child's bedroom when I was nine. That was when I first discovered the magic of books, the amazing adventures and places they could transport you to.

I stared out across the orchard. It was not an orchard in the conventional muggle sense, bearing fruit; its purpose was entirely more fantastical. It was a wand orchard, the only such place in Britain, tended by my ancestors over several generations to provide superior wood for wands. My wand had originated from here, a hawthorn with a phoenix core. It suited me perfectly.

'Boo!' a voice shouted in my ear. I jumped, dropped my book to the ground and drew my wand. I spun round. My breathing slowed; it was just Bella, looking rather pleased with herself. She'd climbed the tree without me even noticing and was perched on a branch just above my head. I settled into a more comfortable position and greeted her.

'I thought you had a meeting this morning.' I said.

'I did. It's one o'clock, 'Dromeda. I just got back.' She told me. 'I've got something important to tell you, but you must swear not to tell anyone else.' Excitement filled her voice.

I swallowed. 'What is it?' This couldn't be good. There was only one thing she cared about these days.

'Swear you won't tell anyone. I shouldn't even be telling you.'

'I swear.' Those were words I would come to regret.

'I'm joining the Death Eaters. That's where I was this morning. I met with the Dark Lord himself. Those mudbloods are finally going to learn their place. My initiation ceremony's on Friday. I really can't tell you anything else, but it'll most likely be in the Prophet on Saturday.'

The bottom dropped out of my stomach. I sat there, gripping the branch and trying to take it in. She spoke so gleefully about it but I just felt sick. It would surely land her in Azkaban, or worse. That was to say nothing of the people that would suffer at her hand. Images from the Prophet flashed though my mind. The Dark Mark cast over houses. People dead with no sign of the cause. The quivering wrecks that survived. I forced a smile on my face and stammered out congratulations. She didn't seem to notice my discomfort.

'Of course, Mother will have a fit when she finds out. She's so determined for me to find a husband, settle down. Her ideas are so archaic. It'll be too late by then though. There'll be no turning back once I've taken the mark.' That was what I was so afraid about.

The conversation turned to more ordinary topics then, chiefly Mother's failed attempts to find husbands for us.

'Mother spent most of the New Year's ball trying to force me to dance with suitable men. She seems to think that, now that I've left school if she doesn't find me a good match within the year I'll have wasted my life. She has no ambition. I'm surprised she made Slytherin at all. It's alright for Cissy, though; she just spent the whole time dancing with Malfoy.'

'She's the same with me.' I told her. 'And _I'm_ still at school. She only left me alone when Sirius put frogspawn in her champagne.' She laughed. I didn't. My mind was still fixed on the Death Eaters.

Darkness surrounded me. I was sat on the cold, hard stone of the secret passage between the Astronomy Tower and the Charms corridor. There was little light, just the lit tip of my wand illuminating the page in front of me, but I wasn't even pretending to read it. I'd escaped up here almost as soon as I'd arrived back at Hogwarts. I used to love the Slytherin common room, with its spooky green light and the underwater view outside the window. Not anymore. Now it just felt claustrophobic and I hated the thought of the lake pressing down above me. I felt even worse when I overheard Malfoy gloating over a muggleborn he'd attacked. Apparently, they 'spoke impertinently' to him. I left after that. Nobody noticed; they probably only tolerated me because of my lineage and sisters.

My thoughts turned back to Bellatrix. The way I saw it I had two options: just give up and accept that she was joining the Death Eaters, or write to her, begging her not to. I knew which one I would choose. I could tell myself all I liked that there was no point in writing a letter, that once she'd made her mind up she'd never change it, that she was stubborn like that. I knew that wasn't my reason, though; it was cowardice, pure and simple. She'd trusted me alone with this knowledge and I didn't dare oppose her on it, face her disappointment, or her anger. Bellatrix wasn't an enemy anyone wanted. Tears spilled down my face.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor and there was a pinprick of light in the distance, growing larger. Someone was coming. I wiped the tears from my face with my handkerchief and moved to stand up, my back straight and my chin up. They were closer now and the lantern they were carrying threw light across their face. It was Theodore Tonks, a muggleborn Hufflepuff in my year and the sort of person Cissy wouldn't go within 100 yards of. His shirt was untucked, his laces undone and he slouched as he walked up to me.

'Are you okay? He asked, concern written all over his face.

'Fine,' I snapped, blushing. You must never cry in public. It's a show of weakness. Bella taught me that.

'Are you sure?'

'Leave it, mudblood. I said I was fine.' I stalked off, the effect rather ruined when I tripped over the hem of my robe. It wasn't until I reached the Slytherin common room that I realised that I'd left my book.

A/N: if anybody's interested the descriptions on Pottermore for Hawthorn is

'The wandmaker Gregorovitch wrote that hawthorn 'makes a strange, contradictory wand, as full of paradoxes as the tree that gave it birth, whose leaves and blossoms heal, and yet whose cut branches smell of death.' While I disagree with many of Gregorovitch's conclusions, we concur about hawthorn wands, which are complex and intriguing in their natures, just like the owners who best suit them. Hawthorn wands may be particularly suited to healing magic, but they are also adept at curses, and I have generally observed that the hawthorn wand seems most at home with a conflicted nature, or with a witch or wizard passing through a period of turmoil. Hawthorn is not easy to master, however, and I would only ever consider placing a hawthorn wand in the hands of a witch or wizard of proven talent, or the consequences might be dangerous. Hawthorn wands have a notable peculiarity: their spells can, when badly handled, backfire.'

And for phoenix core:

This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike.

Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, unable to stay still. I felt like sprinting across the grounds, flying into the wind and rain in the dark or even venturing deep into the Forbidden Forest, anything really to take my mind off my thoughts. I didn't, of course. Blacks are not so foolish. My eyes flicked to the clock above the fire. Eight o'clock. Bella would probably be gone by now, though I couldn't know for sure. She hadn't said precisely when the ceremony was taking place, but it would almost certainly be under the cover of darkness. There was less chance of discovery that way.

My letters sat like rocks in my pockets. Neither of them were finished, just failed attempts to dissuade her without letting slip that I didn't hate muggles. It mattered little now, anyway. It was too late.

'Are you okay Dromeda?' I glanced up. It was Cissy, staring at me from her armchair to the side of the fire. I collapsed into the seat opposite her.

'I'm fine, Cissy.' I told her, attempting to smile. 'Where's Lucius?' I let her chatter wash over me without really taking it in, unable to focus on it. I longed to tell her. We were a unit, the three Black sisters, and it wasn't right of Bella to tell me and not her, forcing me to bear the burden alone. A promise was a promise, though, so I kept quiet.

I tried not to think of it, as much as I could, and was even semi-successful. I'd buried myself in books and schoolwork all week, brewing potions until my robes stank of newts and flobberworms. If this continued I'd probably get straight O's and be able to become a Healer. Every cloud had a silver lining, I supposed. When I'd finally run out of work to do I'd devised elaborate schemes to get my book back. I'd returned to the passageway the following day but it had disappeared. Tonks had probably taken it, not that I could blame him after what I'd called him.

'Dromeda?' Cissy's voice broke into my thoughts.

'Sorry Cissy. What was that?' I asked.

'Are you sure you're okay? I've been talking for about ten minutes and it's been like talking to a stone wall. I swear you haven't heard a single word I've said.'

'I'm sorry Cissy.' I told her. 'I'm just a bit stressed. I've got a lot on my mind at the moment. What were you talking about?' She looked suspiciously at me but let it drop.

'I said that my new dress robes have finally arrived. I decided on the purple fabric with the black lace in the end but now I'm not so sure. I think they make me look a bit too pale. I wanted to know what you thought.

'Okay Cissy.' I followed her to her dormitory, fighting to keep my mind on clothing, however trivial it seemed.

Breathing deeply, I stood with my back against the wall. It was nearing midnight and, as I couldn't sleep, I'd decided that tonight was as good a time as any to carry out my plan. I'd got dressed and slipped out of the dorm. I cast a renewed Disillusionment Charm on myself and hoped it would hold. It was a difficult charm to maintain at the best of times as you had to keep part of your mind on it constantly but right now nerves were making it even harder. I tried to remember how to enter the common room. I'd stood in the shadows watching people enter but now I wasn't sure exactly which barrel to touch. Tapping my fingertips to one, I jumped; something had squirted in my face. I doubled over coughing; it was vinegar. Clear I'd got the wrong one. Who would have thought the Hufflepuff would have booby trapped their common room? I touched the one to the left even more gingerly this time and was relieved to see the lid swing open, revealing the entrance. I took a deep breath and entered.

I stared around the room I wasn't sure what I'd expected but it wasn't this. I'd always assumed all the common rooms were the same. Despite it being underground, like the Slytherin one, that was where the similarities ended. There was none of Slytherin's eerie green glow but rather warm yellow lights lining the walls. It had a rather homely feel. I skirted the edge of the room, avoiding the plants that covered the tables, struggling as I couldn't see my legs. Glancing at a mirror as I passed, I was pleased to see only the faintest outline visible. I was blending in almost perfectly with the background. I reached the sixth year boys dormitory, identified by a sign on the door, and paused.

My plan seemed stupid now, but I reminded myself of its necessity. A simple finite incantatum on the book would reveal it as a muggle one to all and sundry. I would be branded a muggle-lover and my world would fall apart. Granted, most people wouldn't care what books I read but Bella and Cissy would, particularly as I'd kept it a secret. Plus since we'd 'gone to war against mudbloods and other such filth' most Slytherins would too.

I stepped inside and shut the door behind me with a click. The extra hours of study had paid off and I'd found a spell in an obscure library book that, when used, caused the castor's possessions to glow with a bright blue light. I would find my book in no time. The only flaw was, though, that to cast the spell I had to drop the Disillusionment Charm. I scanned the room. The curtains were drawn around most of the beds so I couldn't tell if they were sleeping but there was nothing to be done about that. I wished that I'd decided earlier when to carry out my plan. Then I could have slipped a Delayed Reaction Sleeping Draught into their pumpkin juices at dinner but it was too late for that now. I mouthed the incantation.

A blue glow emanated from beneath one of the beds, presumably Tonks'. I crept towards it. Crouching down, I reached under the bed towards it and breathed a sigh of relief. It was, indeed, my book with 'Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy' printed across the front in large letters. With the book in my hand, I wriggled quickly out from under the bed, eager to get back to my dormitory as soon as possible. It didn't quite go as planned. Bang. My head hit the edge of the bed and I swore loudly. A light flicked on above me.

'Who's there?' I extricated myself, this time with more care, one hand clutching my book and the other held to my head.

'Andromeda Black,' I said, trying to inject more surety into my voice than I felt. I'd managed to forget the fundamental rule of any plan; always have an explanation ready for if it goes wrong. 'I was just retrieving my book that you stole.' I said, straightening my back and sticking my chin up. He smiled.

'You could have just asked for it, you know, rather than breaking in in the middle of the night. Although, I don't know whether I should return it to you as its clearly furthering your misplaced sense of superiority.' It was obvious what he was referring to. I blushed. I knew I should apologise but that wasn't something that came naturally to me.

'I'm sorry,' I stammered out. 'I honestly didn't mean it. I just lashed out and it was wrong of me.' He smiled again, that same genuine, slightly amused smile. It made me want to smile too

'I've been called a mudblood many times but that must be first time anyone's ever apologised for it.' He said. 'I'm curious, though, though. If you really don't hate muggleborns, why are you reading that book?' I tensed up. I'd been starting to relax when he didn't seem likely to curse me or inform a professor but this was exactly the sort of question I was hoping to avoid. I considered it for a few minutes. The most sensible thing to do would be to make an excuse. Say that I was interested in family history or that I'd run out of other things to read. I didn't want to, though. There was just something about him that seemed very trustworthy.

'Can you keep a secret?' I asked, feeling foolish.

'Yes.' He frowned, puzzled.

'I've enchanted it. It only looks like that for appearances. It's really Lord of the Rings.'

'Seriously?' he laughed. 'Why on earth would you bother?'

'It's not exactly popular reading in Slytherin house.' I explained. 'Nobody openly admits to liking muggles. People don't even admit to being half-bloods. I think they're fascinating, though. All their inventions and stories. There's so many of them too, with so many different cultures. If Bellatrix found out she'd hit the roof.'

'Well I swear I won't tell anyone.' He promised. 'But it's ridiculous that you have to go to such extremes just to read books.'

'I should be getting back now.' I told him, although I didn't want to. It was so nice just to be able to speak honestly to someone. I had just reached the door when he called after me.

'Miss Black, if you ever want to talk about whatever was upsetting you, I'd be happy to listen.'

'Thank you.' I walked all the way back to the common room grinning like an idiot, this time with my book in hand, despite the fact that I could never, of course, tell him.


End file.
